A pocket of California publishing
Kaylee Chan (she/her)
Hometown: San Gabriel, California
Major: English, '27
Internship: Heyday
Kaylee Chan reflects on the ins and outs of working at the Berkeley-based publisher, Heyday.
The Heyday office sits on the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Delaware Street in West Berkeley, where one can hear the ambience of passing cars and the automated voice of the intersection crossing. Most people walk past without a single glance. But on occasion, a pedestrian or two will peek their head through the door, curious about the shelves they spied through the window.
“Excuse me?” they’ll ask. “Is this a bookstore?”
They will be told no. Most stick around anyway. “A book publisher, huh,” they muse. “So, what is it that you do?”
When I first started working at Heyday, I had the same question in mind. How does an independent publishing house take a book from an idea to a finished product? I liked to think I had gleaned some degree of esoteric knowledge about the publishing world from my experiences at campus publications, but book publishing seemed an entirely different kind of beast. Here was a product that, unlike a newspaper, demanded timelessness. If done right, these books would be treasured on shelves for decades to come. Everything from the cover material to the page count (ideally divisible by 16!) required consideration.
As an editorial intern, I get to be one of the many eyes that ensures a Heyday book is at its best. I encounter manuscripts in their rawest form, when they are nothing but Word documents covered with autocorrect's squiggly underlines. At this stage, these stories feel a step removed from the books that line Heyday's walls (publisher Steve Wasserman’s personal collection). Those are books that have stood the test of time, successfully establishing themselves as objects of literary merit. It is Heyday's job to put out works that can stand among them—a task as daunting as it is rewarding.
For the 50 years that Heyday has existed, it has published a wide range of nature guides, memoirs, essay collections, and history books. It focuses on nonfiction works that embrace its mission of highlighting California's history, celebrating the natural world, and promoting indigenous cultural renewal. Every project I've worked on has approached these topics with a unique perspective, giving me with a richer understanding of the state I call home.
Of course, working in publishing isn’t always glamorous. There is the ever-present anxiety of keeping a nonprofit financially stable. There is the unexpected drama and hope and heartbreak that inevitably comes with putting a piece of writing out into the world. One might also encounter any number of unpredictable circumstances—one day, I walked into the office only to find the entire floor flooded over due to a faulty pipe from the apartments above. I spent the next day cataloguing the damage done.
Yet the difficulties are quickly buried by publishing’s many joys—successful sales, well-attended book launches at Clio’s, laudatory high-profile reviews, and other victories that show how Heyday is making an impact. The feeling of accomplishment is amplified by my respect for the staff and my belief in the work. There is nothing more fulfilling than working towards the common goal of telling important stories.
Heyday may not be a bookstore, but it is certainly in the business of selling books. More than that, it plays an instrumental role in cultivating community. The people who visit the office the most aren't the random pedestrians, but the many authors and readers and publishing friends who are part of Heyday's network and believe in its cause. Even if I'm only here for a summer, I am glad to consider myself a part of this world.
